WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The construction for the North 3rd Street Improvement Project in Wilmington is well underway. But along the way crews have run into a few bumps in the road… literally. And that means construction could take even longer than expected.

“We’ve experienced a few weeks of delay at the beginning of the project,” Wilmington Transportation Planning Manager Mike Kozlosky said.

The first phase of the North 3rd Street Improvement Project started in August, and crews have already come across a few issues. Commuters in downtown have been caught in the middle.

“You hear a lot of horn blowing and funny hand signals in this type of thing,” Jim Baggett of Wilmington said.

Bicyclist Allen Roberts had another perspective.

“It’s a bit of a hassle, but nothing that can’t be overcome by going down a side street,” he said.

Workers recently discovered an underground shelter along with four storage tanks.

“They are in the way of our new water and sewer lines that are being installed,” project manager Mike Naklicki said.

The old tanks contain liquids such as gas and oil, which require an environmental engineer to come out and make sure the soil is not contaminated.

“The actual work to remove it, excavate it and take it out takes a couple days, but sometimes you’re waiting three to five days for sample results to come back from the lab so we know if we have to take out any more soil or not,” Naklicki said.

The city’s transportation planning manager says he hopes to make up the time lost from removing the shelter and tanks.

“We are trying to identify opportunities and measures to accelerate to get back to where we anticipated we would be at this time,” Kozlosky said.

He says he expects the entire project to be completed in September 2012. Kozlosky says the underground storage tanks will cost $15,000 each to remove. He says that money will come out of the project’s contingency funds.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A timely honor for Cape Fear Community College. As we approach Veterans Day, “G.I. Jobs” magazine recently named CFCC a “military-friendly school.” It’s a title only about 20 percent of colleges and universities receive.

As veterans affairs coordinator at Cape Fear Community College, helping a student veteran register for classes is just one of Bob Philpott’s many duties.

“What we are trying to do is assist the transition from military life to academic and civilian life, and it’s the whole college, the business office, the student development office, testing all the services we offer,” Philpott said. “We want to make them military-friendly.”

It seems to be working.

“The staff is very pro-military here, so it’s been a nice transition for me to come out of the military and come to a school such as this,” Navy veteran and CFCC student David Mason said.

That dedication to the men and women who fought for our country is why CFCC a plaque naming it a military-friendly school for 2012.

Many veterans also take advantage of the Veterans Center here on campus, which will turn a year old on Veterans Day.

At the Veterans Center students get help with their VA benefits and choosing classes. It’s also a place to mingle with others who know what it’s like to serve in the military. That’s something student and reserve Marine Zachary Maditz appreciates.

“It makes it nice, because we can come in and read the ‘Army Times,”Marine Corps Times,’ and then there are other service members in here we can talk to, you know, tell stories,” Maditz said. “It just make you feel a little more comfortable being around other people that are in the military.”

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Another milestone counting down to the end of an era here in Hollywood East. Today marked the start of the last five days of shooting for “One Tree Hill,” according to the show’s co-producer.

Black material covered the windows at the Karen’s Café set in downtown Wilmington as the cast and crew continued working on the show’s ninth and final season.

The end of the show has drawn plenty of fans to town, including one woman today who worked on a painting of storefront set.